Sunday, April 14, 2013

The Sunday Comments ( 04 - 14 - 13 )

re: ANNETTE (and other recent losses):

We lost another special one last week when Annette Funicello passed away from complications to MS, a disease she has been battling for the past 25 years. It seems that Annette always maintained a presence in our lives, no matter when we were growing up. I was surprised to see that she was 70 ... the same age as Roger Ebert, who we also lost last week ... I guess both will always remain in our memories the way we first saw them in their prime. Very sad news. (kk)

Annette Funicello, the Mouseketeer turned singer and Beach Party actress, died of complications from multiple sclerosis Monday at a hospital in Bakersfield, California. She was 70. Born in Utica, New York, her family moved when she was four to Southern California. It was Walt Disney himself who discovered her when he saw her appear in a production of "Swan Lake" at a dance recital in Burbank. She was cast as one of the original Mouseketeers on Walt's "Mickey Mouse Club" on ABC-TV in 1955. Though one of the last chosen, she proved the most popular, garnering 6,000 letters a month. When the Club ended its television run in 1959, she appeared in guest roles on other television series (such as "Zorro" and "Make Room For Daddy") and starred in Disney movies like "Babes in Toyland" and "The Monkey's Uncle." By then, Annette was also a recording star, with hits like "Tall Paul" (#7 - 1959), - ironic, since she was dating the diminutive Paul Anka at the time - "O Dio Mio" (#10 - 1960), "Pineapple Princess" (#11 - 1960) and "First Name Initial" (#20 - 1960). She moved on in 1963 to star in a series of teenage "beach party" films (many with Frankie Avalon), including "Beach Party" (1963), "Muscle Beach Party" (1964), "Bikini Beach (1964), Pajama Party (1964) and "Beach Blanket Bingo" (1965). Respectful of Walt Disney, she kept her navel covered despite the ever-present bathing suits. Frankie and Annette reprised the "beach" concept in the film, "Back To The Beach" in 1987. It was during that movie's filming that she noticed neurological problems and announced in 1992 that she was suffering from MS. All-told, she appeared in 19 films and charted ten times. Her autobiography, "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes," was published in 1994. -- Ron Smith / oldiesmusic.com

The saddest news of all ... the passing of Annette Funicello. The passing of Annette Funicello is a moment that will sadden our world. Every young male from my generation fell in love with her as we watched her grow before our eyes. The Mickey Mouse Club, American Bandstand or lying on the beach with Frankie, she was always something special. Glen, her husband took very good care of her throughout her troubled illness. Thanks Glen, for being there for her. Lou Christie

Hi Kent -So sad to hear that Annette lost her battle with MS. She brought a lot of enjoyment in my life. I enjoyed her work on the Mickey Mouse Club, especially her serials like "Spin and Marty".

She had allot of hit songs. My favorite was the B side of "Wild Willie:" called "Lonely Guitar", that was written by Mouseketeer Jimmy Dodd.

I was fortunate to see her and Frankie Avalon when they performed one year at Chicago Fest. She will be missed but we all have the memories of her.

If fans want to know more about her life, her biography is called "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes". Maybe you can write a tribute to her and list her songs.

Carolyn

Probably better known for all her beach movies and Mouseketeer career than her songs, Annette hit The National Top 40 six times with "Tall Paul" (#7, 1959); "Lonely Guitar" (actually the A-Side of this single ... it peaked at #40 in 1969); "First Name Initial" (#16, 1960); "O Dio Mio" (#10, 1960); "Train Of Love (#36, 1960) and "Pineapple Princess" (#11, 1960). She also sang the theme song to her Walt Disney movie "The Monkey's Uncle" with The Beach Boys. Annette was certainly the subject of many a young boy's early puberty fantasies ... but she grew into a beautiful, highly respected and credible woman and spokeswoman. We will miss her. (kk)

R.I.P. Annette Funicello

Annette Joanne Funicello was an American actress and singer.
Beginning her professional career as a child performer at the age of twelve, Funicello rose to prominence as one of the most popular "Mouseketeers" on the original Mickey Mouse Club.Impossible to sum up her career BRIEFLY !
Instead I'd like to share a remembrance ...

A question on the 'old' HOLLYWOOD SQUARES from host Peter Marshall ... "Frankie Avalon has decided to shorten his name ... shorten it to what?"THE ANSWER & JOKING QUIP?HE'S SHORTENING IT TO FRANK AVALONAnd, in related news ... ANNETTE FUNICELLO is shortening her name also ... to ANNETTE FUN (foon)THAT STILL MAKES ME LAUGHNow it's time to say good-bye
to one of our good friends ...

Lennox McLendon / AP In this January 3, 1978 file photo, actress Annette Funicello recalls moments when she played a "Mouseketeer" on ABC's first successful daytime television show,"The Mickey Mouse Club" in Los Angeles, while she was taping an ABC Silver Anniversary Celebration special.(NEW YORK) — Annette Funicello, the most popular Mouseketeer on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” who matured to a successful career in records and ’60s beach party movies but struggled with illness in middle age and after, died Monday, The Walt Disney Co. said. She was 70.She died peacefully at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, California, of complications from multiple sclerosis, the company said.Funicello stunned fans and friends in 1992 with the announcement about her ailment. Yet she was cheerful and upbeat, grappling with the disease with a courage that contrasted with her lightweight teen image of old.The pretty, dark-haired Funicello was just 13 when she gained fame on Walt Disney’s television kiddie “club,” an amalgam of stories, songs and dance routines that ran from 1955 to 1959.Cast after Disney saw her at a dance recital, she soon began receiving 8,000 fan letters a month, 10 times more than any of the 23 other young performers.Her devotion to Walt Disney remained throughout her life. “He was the dearest, kindest person, and truly was like a second father to me,” she remarked. “He was a kid at heart.”When “The Mickey Mouse Club” ended, Annette (as she was often billed) was the only club member to remain under contract to the studio. She appeared in such Disney movies as “Johnny Tremain,” ”The Shaggy Dog,” ”The Horsemasters,” ”Babes in Toyland,” ”The Misadventures of Merlin Jones” and “The Monkey’s Uncle.”She also became a recording star, singing on 15 albums and hit singles such as “Tall Paul” and “Pineapple Princess.”Outgrowing the kid roles by the early ’60s, Annette teamed with Frankie Avalon in a series of movies for American-International, the first film company to exploit the burgeoning teen market.The filmmakers weren’t aiming for art, and they didn’t achieve it. As Halliwell’s Film Guide says of “Beach Party”: “Quite tolerable in itself, it started an excruciating trend.”But the films had songs, cameos by older stars and a few laughs and, as a bonus to latter-day viewers, a look back at a more innocent time. The 1965 “Beach Blanket Bingo,” for example, featured subplots involving a mermaid, a motorcycle gang and a skydiving school run by Don Rickles, and comic touches by silent film star Buster Keaton.Among the other titles: “Muscle Beach Party,” ”Bikini Beach,” ”Beach Blanket Bingo,” ”How to Stuff a Wild Bikini” and “Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine.”The shift in teen tastes begun by the Beatles in 1964 and Funicello’s first marriage the following year pretty much killed off the genre.But she was somehow never forgotten though mostly out of the public eye for years. She and Avalon staged a reunion in 1987 with “Back to the Beach.” It was during the filming that she noticed she had trouble walking — the first insidious sign of MS.When it was finally diagnosed, she later recalled, “I knew nothing about (MS), and you are always afraid of the unknown. I plowed into books.”Her symptoms were relatively mild at first, but gradually she lost control of her legs, and she feared people might think she was drunk. So she went public with her ordeal in 1992.She wrote of her triumphs and struggles in her 1994 autobiography, “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” — the title taken from a Disney song. In 1995, she appeared briefly in a television docudrama based on her book. And she spoke openly about the degenerative effects of MS.“My equilibrium is no more; it’s just progressively getting worse,” she said. “But I thank God I just didn’t wake up one morning and not be able to walk. You learn to live with it. You learn to live with anything, you really do.”“I’ve always been religious. This just makes me appreciate the Lord even more because things could always be worse. I know he will see me through this.”Funicello was born Oct. 22, 1942, in Utica, N.Y., and her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 4. She began taking dance lessons the following year and won a beauty contest at 9. Then came the discovery by Disney in 1955.“I have been blessed to have a mentor like Walt Disney,” she said 40 years later. “Those years were the happiest of my life. I felt that back then. I feel the same today.”Asked about the revisionist biographies that have portrayed Disney in a negative light, she said, “I don’t know what went on in the conference rooms. I know what I saw. And he was wonderful.”In 1965, Funicello married her agent, Jack Gilardi, and they had three children, Gina, Jack and Jason. The couple divorced 18 years later, and in 1986 she married Glen Holt, a harness racehorse trainer. After her film career ended, she devoted herself to her family. Her children sometimes appeared on the TV commercials she made for peanut butter.The beach films featured ample youthful skin. But not Funicello’s.She remembered in 1987: “Mr. Disney said to me one day, ‘Annette, I have a favor to ask of you. I know all the girls are wearing bikinis, but you have an image to uphold. I would appreciate it if you would wear a one-piece suit.’ I did, and I never regretted it.”-- submitted by Bill Hengels

Bill also sent us this clipping:

Zeppelin, Stones engineer Andy Johns dead at 61

By Todd Leopold, CNN

updated 10:28 AM EDT, Tue April 9, 2013

Andy Johns was engineer on several classic albums

He worked on Led Zeppelin's "Led Zeppelin IV," Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street"

"1 of the great engineer/producers of our time," tweeted Slash

(CNN) -- Andy Johns, the engineer and producer who worked on albums by Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Television and Van Halen, has died, according to guitarist Stacey Blades, who was collaborating on a project with him.Johns, who died Sunday, was 61.Blades noted that Johns had entered the hospital about 10 days ago. "Andy's health wasn't all that great over the last six months or so, but he was still Andy," he told CNN. "When I got the call yesterday I was shocked."Johns, the younger brother of famed producer Glyn Johns, was the engineer for most of Led Zeppelin's output, including "Led Zeppelin II," "Led Zeppelin IV," "Houses of the Holy" and "Physical Graffiti." He was known for his skill at recording a range of guitar sounds and, especially, John Bonham's room-shaking drums.He also had a hand in the Rolling Stones' "Sticky Fingers," "Exile on Main Street" and "Goats Head Soup," Van Halen's "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" (which he produced) and two albums by guitarist Joe Satriani."Lovely guy -- patient, skilled, funny, encouraging, sharp ... all the qualities you want in someone who is getting your music on to tape," wrote Queen's Brian May on his website. Queen recorded at London's Olympic Studios, where Johns also worked."1 of the great engineer/producers of our time," tweeted guitarist Slash.Johns also co-produced New York punk band Television's seminal "Marquee Moon," though the result wasn't quite what the band was looking for. Johns went for a booming drum sound with the sharper-edged New Yorkers, but it didn't fit, Television's Richard Lloyd told CNN in 2003."If the drums were that big, it wouldn't be us," Lloyd said.Johns did, however, grab Television's wiry, entangled guitar sound -- which Lloyd described as "two gears in a clock" -- perfectly. The album, like many of Johns' recordings, has since become a classic.Johns' more recent recordings included albums by the Steve Miller Band, Chickenfoot and Sabyrtooth.Blades, a former member of L.A. Guns, called Johns "amazing.""It was just amazing to watch him work, and how he would place mics in the recording room, and his ideas while you're tracking. I learned a lot from him, he was inspiring and taught me so much about sound and thinking outside of the box," he said. "You always took his suggestions, because how can you argue with a guy who produced the Stones?"Blades and other musicians who have worked with Johns are organizing a memorial concert for him next month. The producer and engineer leaves behind a wife and two children."Andy will be sorely missed," said Blades. "He was a good friend, a great producer, and a great guy. The industry will definitely mourn his loss."

And this from FH Reader Ken Voss ... Rolling Stones, Led Zep, Jimi Hendrix producer Andy Johns dies, aged 62Music producer Andy Johns has died, aged 62. The recording engineer worked on many classic albums by the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. He died on Sunday (April 7) after a brief stay in hospital to treat complications from a stomach ulcer.
Johns was the younger brother of producer Glyn Johns and uncle to Ethan Johns.
He engineered a number of iconic rock albums including four Rolling Stones LPs, such as Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street.He worked on six Led Zeppelin albums including Led Zeppelin II and Led Zeppelin IV, along with recordings by Blind Faith, Ten Years After and Free. Johns also produced LPs by Jethro Tull, Humble Pie, Television and Van Halen.
In more recent years, Johns had worked on tracks by LA Guns, Godsmack and Chickenfoot.
Slash has been among the stars paying tribute to the rock producer, tweeting that Johns was "1 of the great engineer / producers of our time".
Brian May of Queen wrote on his website that Johns was a "lovely guy – patient, skilled, funny, encouraging, sharp, all the qualities you want in someone who is getting your music on to tape".
Andy Johns is survived by his wife Annette, sons Evan, Jesse and William and grandchildren Lennon, Everly, Charlie and Luca.

Kent ...Was listening to Big Jay on my clock-radio last night.
He announced that Lumpy (Frank Bank) from "Leave It To Beaver" has died. They say it's always a series of three = Annette // Jonathan Winters // Frank Bank.R.I.P. Lumpy!
Frank B.LOL ... yep ... I guess Lumpy would trump Margaret Thatcher in this threesome! (kk)

re: THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW: Good scoop, Kent!!

Phil

Kudos on another week celebrating The Ed Sullivan Show. How nice that SOFA Entertainment came to you to celebrate their 25 million you tube visits. It's a true compliment to your efforts over the years, celebrating this great music -- just a huge part of our lives. Keep up the good work!
Ed

A compliment indeed ... and we are proud to be in ANY way associated with bringing this music and these memories to you. SOFA has build a TREMENDOUS collection of Ed Sullivan clips for home consumption ... and I'm hoping they'll continue to bring this music to you for many years to come. (Now if we can only get Reelin' In The Years to do the same with their recently acquired Red Skelton collection!!!) kk

Kent,Just a short note ... just viewed a video on Forgotten Hits the other day of Petula Clark singing "Downtown" from her new release and still performing at 80 and just caught her Ed Sullivan performance from 48 years ago -- absolutely ASTOUNDING viewing the time capsule of life on your website. If you want to see another great collector of media, click onto Burton Cummings Facebook ... really interesting too. Thank-you,
TimSeems like the list of #1 hit videos ran a little thin there at the end -- some of those tunes (We've Only Just Begun, Born To Be Wild, For Once In My Life, California Dreaming) never actually made it to #1.

Top10Kid

I'll admit we had to do a bit of scrambling near the end. "Monday Monday" was supposed to go up on the site instead of "California Dreamin'" ... but the embedding feature was disabled and we couldn't post it to the site. (While "California Dreamin'" never officially made it to #1 on the national charts ... it peaked at #2 in Record Word, where it had its best showing ... it was a HUGE #1 Hit here in Chicago. In fact WCFL named it their Biggest Hit of 1966 on their year-end survey.) "We've Only Just Begun" and "For Once In My Life" DID make it to #1 ... just not in Billboard. And "Born To Be Wild" (another chart-topper here in Chicago) peaked at #2 in all three major music trades.

We tried to get a couple more tracks to post as "Forgotten Hits Exclusives", kind of like what we did in our previous Ed Sullivan feature when we posted The Friends Of Distinction performing "Grazing In The Grass" before it was officially posted to YouTube ... but this time around we found Josh Solt to be ... shall we say ... a "little bit less supportive" ... he LOVED the idea of Forgotten Hits saluting and promoting their 25 Million YouTube Hits ... but wasn't forthcoming in providing any new or exclusive material to be shown on the site ... and that was a bit of a disappointment, as I really didn't want to repeat any artists (even though most of you probably would have accepted two tracks by Elvis and/or The Beatles!) I figured we'd be questioned by at least a few of our astute FH readers ... and sure enough we were. (In fact, I even predicted as much to Josh!)

I was also surprised that there was no #1 Hit available by The Temptations, who topped Billboard's Pop Singles Chart four times. All we had to choose from was their compilation DVD or a couple of other tunes that fell short of the #1 spot. I was REALLY pushing for "Just My Imagination", as that was a GREAT Ed Sullivan performance ... and it appears on several of their home DVD collections ... but we couldn't get our hands on that clip either.

Oh well, it's the thought that counts. As Forgotten Hits closes in on two million views, I felt YouTube's Ed Sullivan Channel passing 25 million views was certainly worthy of celebration. My MAIN goal was to hopefully inspire a few other artists to write in and share their memories ... and maybe that will still happen.

Meanwhile, Jeff March (co-author of all of those great "Where Have All The Pop Stars Gone" books) sent me four Ed Sullivan mentions from the interviews that HE had done with these artists for his various books: Hi, Kent, I searched the text for all three of our books ("Echoes of the Sixties" plus the two "Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone" volumes). Five performers spoke about the Ed Sullivan show -- either being on it, or about the influence of the show.

Here are their comments in passages excerpted directly from the book text.

The Angels:

Barbara Allbut Brown: "When we were on the Ed Sullivan Show my mother apparently wouldn’t sit in the room to watch it. My father said he was watching the television, and she kind of peeked around the corner and then made her way into the room slowly after she saw that we weren’t going to fall on our faces.”

Gary Puckett & the Union Gap

Gary Withem: The band made numerous guest appearances on a variety of popular television programs, including the Jerry Lewis, Jonathan Winters, and Red Skelton shows. But when they were invited to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, Gary Withem was convinced the band had made it. “I remember the Rolling Stones performed right before us and they had to change their song lyrics to ‘let’s spend some time together.’ It was too risqué in those days to refer to going too far, so in ‘Young Girl’ we had to sing, ‘How can this love of ours go on,’” said Withem. “Since the Stones had to change their lyrics it was okay with us."

Lovin' Spoonful

Jerry Yester says the Beatles’ initial appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 exerted a profound effect on the Greenwich Village folk music scene. “That was the arrow through the heart of folk music,” Yester intones. “Before then, folk music was the most popular music in the country. But after that Sullivan program, folk musicians started growing long hair and buying electric guitars.”

The Kingston Trio

Frank Werber, manager: After the expiration of their Capitol contract, the Kingston Trio signed with Decca Records in 1964. But manager Frank Werber knew the group’s season in the sun was just about done. “While we were at Decca’s offices negotiating the contract, I looked outside and saw police officers holding screaming teenagers behind barricades outside the theater where the Beatles were appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show. In my heart, I knew it was over,” Werber told us.

The Grass Roots

Rick Coonce had some fond recollections of his years with the Grass Roots. “We had some hoots that were just unbelievable,” said Coonce, whose speech developed a distinct Canadian lilt. “One time we were guests along with Steppenwolf on Hugh Hefner’s Playboy After Hours TV show. If you did his show, you were a guest at his mansion in Chicago, where we spent the night,” Coonce explained. “It had endless hardwood floors, and a pool downstairs, and it was just deluxe. If you had a cigarette and flicked an ash, before it hit the floor there was a butler with an ash tray underneath it. And ever since I had seen the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, I wanted to be on the Ed Sullivan Show, so when we were, it just blew my socks off. We spent three days there for seven minutes on the air. First we showed up and their set designers, makeup artists, and other people had a look at us. They asked what we were going to wear that night, and we showed them. Then we went back to our hotel. The next day we show up and there was more planning and then we went back to the hotel. Then on Sunday, the day of the broadcast, we showed up and we went into the green room, and they had everything in the world for us. There was a bar and catered food. We put on our clothes and had our makeup done and did a dress rehearsal on the stage. Then we went back to the green room and nobody was allowed to leave. We did another dress rehearsal at 6 o’clock with an audience and then went back to the green room again, until the show started at 8 o’clock, and we were locked in there until a stage assistant knocked on the door and told us it was our time to go on. Ed Sullivan was in control, and we knew he could cut your act at any time.” And, as we discovered last week in his Songfacts interview, Gary Lewis told Carl Wiser:

Songfacts: Well, I'm interested to know what it is like being a teenager and showing up to do The Ed Sullivan Show, for instance.Gary: It really wasn't any pressure whatsoever, because back then they didn't have the facilities to mix anything. No band could play live, they all had to lip-synch. So there was no pressure whatsoever.

Just curious when or why the Sullivan show started allowing pre recorded tracks to be used? I don't remember you talking about that in your Articles you did on the show. Some are annoyingly obvious like the Steppenwolf Born to Be Wild clip. John Kay is singing along to his own vocal track.

One would have thought, they would have at least got a mix without the vocal so he could just sing.

Just curious, and who better to send these puzzling questions to than the Oldies master.

Bill

To the best of my recollection, the acts typically appeared "live", performing to a backing track previously recorded ... that meant for live vocals and sometimes different arrangements of their songs. (The Rolling Stones singing "Let's Spend Some Time Together" immediately comes to mind.) Some bands seemed to have played TOTALLY live as even the backing tracks were different than their recorded hits. However, we did witness some lip-synching as well.

I forwarded your inquiry to Andrew Solt, keeper of the castle when it comes the Ed Sullivan catalog. Hopefully we'll hear something back soon that can provide us with a few more details. (kk)

re: RECENT AND UP-COMING SHOWS: Hi! I am very proud to be TOMMY ROE's manager and bandleader. We've known each other for almost 30 years. But far more importantly he and his fabulous wife, Josette, are dear, dear friends ...this is what life is about.

TOMMY really and truly is a rock and pop legend ... only sometimes he doesn't even know it ... his class, generosity and humble nature is so profoundly refreshing in a business of universal sized egos that seldom match the talent. In Tommy's case, his talent as a songwriter, singer, guitarist far, far outweigh his ego.

To wit, here is a story he told to me casually ... as if it were nothing ... yet it is one of the GREAT, GREAT stories of Rock History.

As many of you know, in 1963 The Beatles were TOMMY's opening act in the UK ... and as Beatlemania grew ... the world changed ... certainly first in UK. But few people know that BRIAN EPSTEIN personally gave TOMMY ROE a BEATLES's demo package to take back to the USA after the tour ... and take to Tommy's label, ABC Paramount, to try to get a deal for the mop tops in the USA.

Well, Tommy did just that ... and took the package to Sam Clark, head of ABC.

The bottom line is that they told TOMMY to "stick to singin' kid ... let us find the talent" ... and they rejected the Beatles.

The point I am making is that most other artists would gloat and boast over being such a supreme part of rock n roll history ... but to my pal, TOMMY ROE, it's just part of the experience of a wonderful life in music.
AND YES ... these are my words and thoughts and can be used in any piece on TOMMY.

Well spoken, Rick ... and a story that typically would have been played to the hilt by anybody else. The Beatles won over every headliner they performed with before being discovered on these shores. Tommy Roe ... Roy Orbison ... Little Richard ... Del Shannon (who came back to The States and recorded "From Me To You" after seeing it top the charts in England) ... and so many others, including even the sidemen like Billy Preston, who would go on to record with The Beatles many years later. Seems like everybody who came in contact with these guys at the time KNEW they were going to be big ... except the record company execs who got paid the big bucks to scout new talent. Now obviously NOBODY knew HOW big they might become ... but their talent was undeniable and their music and demeanor were immediately infectious. Thanks for writing. (kk)

And our buddy Freddy Cannon is still out there rockin', too. Just got this from FH Reader Tom Cuddy:

The Stones have a few dates scheduled for out here. The last time I saw them was 1994.

Keef was on Jimmy Fallon the other night. He actually looks and sounds better (speaking wise) than he has in years!!
I just read that Macca is making a few stops in the states this year. I didn't see anything about Chicago or LA though. The man does keep busy ... no wonder he's worth a Billion Dollars!!
Mike Mertes

Scroll back to Saturday's post for a complete list of McCartney's US dates thus far ... and be sure to join us tomorrow when Forgotten Hits is ALL about the money!!! (In fact, we'll pass a billion ourselves if you stick around all day long and do the math!) It's another one of our All Day Sucker Marathons ... brand new musical postings throughout the day ... hey, it just might be the highlight of Tax Day!!! Check back often! (kk)

>>>Forgotten Hits would like to propose adding yet ANOTHER date to the schedule ... an EXCLUSIVE Performance at Wrigley Field ... where The Stones could perform their entire"Goats Head Soup" album from start to finish ... followed by the usual assortment of other hits. Think about it ... what a GREAT promotion!!! And the best part of all ... the concert isABSOLUTELY FREE!!!!! (to anyone who can provide an authentic Cubs World Series ticket at the door ... all other tickets are $200 each, first come, first served) kk

"Goat's Head Soup"? If I have to sit through "Angie" droning on one more time... Yes, I know -- the Stones cut worse albums -- but really. I might attend the Stones' live show, though, if they agreed to perform the entire Jan & Dean "Legendary Masters" album. Wait. That was a double LP. How about "Best of The Orlons"?

ON THE FLIPSIDE w/Java JohnSaturday April 27, 6-8pm (est)
On WFIT 89.5fm Public Radio for Brevard County, Florida
Listen Online: www.wfit.org

Hope to see you there. It's one of my rare Florida appearances. I'm back at the Luna Star Cafe in June, then in August and September I'll be touring England and Spain.

Naturally I'll keep you posted.

Yers,
Bob Lindwww.boblind.com We told you recently that The Eagles will be going back out on tour in support of their "History Of The Eagles" documentary special, available on DVD later this month.

Well, about a week ago, Don Henley let it be known that a former member would be joining them on tour this time around. Immediate speculation went to Randy Meisner, who wrote and sang their #1 Hit "Take It To The Limit" ... but Henley kept mum about any details. (The only thing for certain, he said, was that it would NOT be Don Felder!!!)

Now Tom Cuddy sends us word that it has been confirmed that Bernie Leadon will be joining the band again on the road for this reunion tour. In fact, it sounds like a multi-media event, featuring lots of video backdrops and the band performing songs they've never performed live on stage before. (Damn, if tickets were damn-near a million dollars each, I would LOVE to see this show!!!)

Bernie Leadon is the ex-Eagles member that is coming back for their upcoming tour.
Don Henley first revealed that a former member was coming back to the group in a February radio interview. All that was known was that it was either Leadon and Randy Meisner, as he came out and said it was not Don Felder.
This week, Joe Walsh told Billboard that it was, in fact, Leadon. "Bernie's brilliant. "I never really got a chance to play with him, but we've been in contact. We see him from time to time, and I'm really glad he's coming because it's going to take the show up a notch, and I'm really looking forward to playing with him, finally."
Leadon was a member of Dillard and Clark and the Flying Burrito Brothers before becoming a founding member of the Eagles. He stayed with the group until 1975 when he became upset with the direction the band was taking away from country-rock. Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), one of the biggest selling albums of all-time, covers the years that Leadon was with the band.
Walsh implied in the interview that the History of the Eagles tour would be different from past shows, using archival footage and a number of rarely played songs.

The 60 second, mini-review on Fleetwood Mac's concert at U-C.
1. Stevie is a great deal like Brian Urlacher ... she's lost a couple of steps. Then again, she couldn't nail the high notes on "Sara" or "Gypsy" 20 years ago. Lindsey "covers" for Stevie on a number of songs. You can tell the crowd wants Nicks to knock the ball out of the park. She just can't hit the fast ball.
2. Mick Fleetwood remains a powerful and aggressive drummer, an absolute delight to see and hear.
3. As usual, you weren't sure if John McVie was in the arena or sitting outside Dodger Stadium.
4. The group sorely misses Christine McVie.
5. Lindsey was Lindsey - what you see is what you get. He did have one extended guitar solo with a Joe Walsh feel that brought the U.C. crowd to its feet.
6. Bet the rent, they shall return. Why not? The group played to a full house.
7. The group should have done "Hypnotized" in tribute to the late Bob Welch.
The Coppock rating: a very conservative 3-stars.
Chet Coppock
Host: Chicago Blackhawks Heritage Series
Noozebox.com

Last week we ran an update about The Happy Together Tour. Here is some more info, along with the list of show dates again ... this is going to be a HUGE tour this year ... unreal how many dates they're doing!!!: THE HAPPY TOGETHER TOUR CONTINUES TO CELEBRATE THE MUSIC OF THE SIXTIES WITH FOURTH ANNUAL TOUR BEGINNING IN EARLY JUNE

THE TURTLES FEATURING FLO & EDDIE, CHUCK NEGRON, FORMERLY OF THREE DOG NIGHT, GARY PUCKETT & THE UNION GAP, MARK LINDSAY, FORMER LEAD SINGER OF PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS AND GARY LEWIS & THE PLAYBOYS TO BRING GOOD TIME MUSIC TO THE MASSES WITH OVER FIFTY SCHEDULED DATES IN THE U.S. AND CANADA

TEN STUDENTS FROM BELMONT UNIVERSITY TO EXPERIENCE ALL FACETS OF TOURING AS THEY HOP ON THE BUS TO JOIN HAPPY TOGETHER FOR "ROCK AND ROLL REALITY TOUR"

In the three years since The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie brought back some friends for the 25th Anniversary Tour in 2010, "Happy Together" has become one of the most successful summer tours in existence, constantly hitting the road and celebrating the music of the 60's for thousands of "Happy" fans to enjoy across North America.

This year's Happy Together Tour -- comprised of The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie, Chuck Negron, formerly of Three Dog Night, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Mark Lindsay, former lead singer of Paul Revere & The Raiders and Gary Lewis & The Playboys -- will begin on Saturday, June 8 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi and subsequently land in more than fifty cities across the United States and Canada on a trek that is expected to last through early October (see below for itinerary).

"Happy Together Tour 2013 will be the biggest and most successful tour we have done in the past 7 years," states Mark Volman (aka "Flo") of The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie. "It's 54 cities over 9 weeks, and the groups on this year's show bring with them hours of hit songs and memories certain to please every fan of the 1960's. We are so excited to be a part of this great show. You don't want to miss it!"

Hours of hit songs, indeed.

In all, the five artists on this year's tour have over sixty Top 40 hits to choose from, including six number one songs.

Half of those Top 40 hits were Top 10!

The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie have headlined and hosted all the previous Happy Together Tours and will be doing the same for this year's shows.

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap return from last year, while Mark Lindsay, former lead singer of Paul Revere & The Raiders returns from 2010 and 2011.

The relative newcomer to the Happy Together Tour is Gary Lewis & The Playboys, who shared the stage with The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie, The Mamas & the Papas, The Grass Roots and The Buckinghams on the immensely successful 1985 Happy Together Tour.

"I'm very excited to be on the Happy Together Tour again with my great friends from the 60's," exclaims Gary. "We have wonderful acts and all you'll hear is hits!"

From such songs as "Happy Together," "Joy to the World" and "Young Girl" to "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" and "This Diamond Ring," fans will, once again, delight in hearing the songs sung by the original singers that they've heard on the radio for the past several decades.

"Happy Together" by The Turtles hit #1 on the charts in 1967 (displacing the Beatles' "Penny Lane") and remains a staple on classic rock radio to this day. Although their biggest hit and signature song, it's just one of their nine Top 40 hits, which includes such popular songs as "She'd Rather Be With Me," "Elenore," "You Showed Me" and "It Ain't Me Babe." In 1968, far ahead of their time, they would release one of music's first concept albums, The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, where they pretended to be eleven different bands with different names, each providing a song in a different genre. The album -- which showcased their incredible range of vocal talent -- spawned the hits "Elenore" and "You Showed Me" (both peaking at #6 on the Billboard charts). Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan have remained plenty busy over the years with both The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie and their extracurricular music activities. The band has sold over 60 million albums worldwide and continue to please audiences with their fun-filled performances.

Chuck Negron co-founded the hugely popular, multi-platinum band, Three Dog Night in 1967. The group went on to become one of the most successful bands of the late 60's and early 70's with 21 Top 40 hits and three number one songs including "Joy to the World," "Black and White" and "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)." The band's first gold record was "One," which featured Chuck on lead vocals as did "Joy to the World" and many other of the band's biggest hits including "Old Fashioned Love Song." Chuck has kept the music that he helped make famous "alive" by continuing to perform throughout the decades.

This year's Happy Together Tour starts on Chuck's birthday and he's looking forward to being a part of the festivities. "Performing with the Happy Together Tour is one of the highlights of my career!"

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap was one of the most successful musical groups of the sixties, boasting five Top 10 singles. Gary's unmistakable signature voice garnered six consecutive gold records and top ten Billboard hits such as "Young Girl" and "Woman Woman." In 1968, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap sold more records than any other artist including the Beatles. Gary Puckett has performed on more than thirty network television shows and prime time specials during his career, even adding a command performance for the President and Prince Charles at the White House. The Union Gap disbanded in 1971. Gary continues to tour nationally and internationally.

Gary comments, "The Happy Together Tour is a tremendously fun and entertaining show both to do AND to see! It's a pleasure and an honor to be one of the featured performers. Don't miss it!"

"Indian Reservation" by Paul Revere & The Raiders hit #1 on the charts in 1971, selling over 4 million copies which made it the biggest selling single for Columbia Records for almost a decade. This massive hit followed quite a few that came before it from the band including "Kicks," "Hungry," "Just Like Me" and "Good Thing" (as well as the Mark Lindsay Top Ten solo hit, "Arizona," from 1970). In all, the band would achieve no less than fifteen Top 40 hits, five going Top 10. In February of this year, Mark released, "Like Nothing That You've Seen," ultimately described by Little Steven on Sirius/XM Radio's "Underground Garage" as the "coolest song in the world." A full album, via Bongo Boy Records, will be coming out this summer.

"I'm hyper-excited about being back on the Happy Together Tour this year and I'm working out to get in top shape for my high energy show," says Mark. "I hope to see you all out on that road and we'll have some great rock and roll fun together!"

Aficionados of the 60's pop classics have cause to rejoice with the return of Gary Lewis & The Playboys. It was the summer of 1964 when Gary Lewis & The Playboys were discovered by producer Snuff Garrett. By the following year, they had a song go straight to the top of the charts called, "This Diamond Ring." After the second hit titled, "Count Me In," went to number two, Gary and the band proved they would be a continued success. They followed with more Top 10 songs such as "Save Your Heart for Me," "Everybody Loves A Clown," "She's Just My Style," "Sure Gonna Miss Her" and many more (seven in all). In 1965, Gary, himself, was Cash Box magazine's "Male Vocalist of the Year," winning the honor over other nominees Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. He was the first and only artist during the 1960's to have his first seven releases reach Billboard magazine's Top 10 on the Hot 100 chart. Still going strong, Gary released a new single last year titled, "You Can't Go Back."

For the second consecutive year, ten Belmont University students will be joining "Professor Flo," Mark Volman, for an invaluable experience on the road in their own tour bus for approximately two weeks of the Happy Together Tour beginning June 14 in Clearwater, Florida.

Under the guidance of Volman -- a founding member of The Turtles and Curb College professor of Entertainment Industry Studies -- the students will be working with the artists on tour and crew professionals in the area of tour management, stage management, audio engineering, tour accounting and merchandise sales This will be in addition to learning the process of loading in, setting up, breaking down and loading out.

"This is a unique and wonderful experience for all of us," comments Volman. "The students get a chance to see and experience first-hand what life on the road is really all about... We like to think of it as the Rock and Roll Reality Tour."

Come on out, join the fun and imagine how the world could be, so very fine... so Happy Together!

For further information, photos or interview requests, please contact Jeff Albright / The Albright Entertainment Group at rockstarpr@aol.com.

Sunday, September 1 - New York State Fair / Chevy Court - Syracuse, New York

Saturday, October 5 - All Seasons Arena - Minot, North Dakota

And, speaking of Gary Lewis and the Playboys ...

re: GARY LEWIS:

Kent,

I have really enjoyed all the Gary Lewis material from the last week or so. Back in the 60’s when buying or listening to Gary’s music I wasn’t aware of any contributions made by Snuff, Leon or The Wrecking Crew. I was just a kid going out and buying the music and enjoying it.

In recent years we have all come to know about The Funk Brothers and The Wrecking Crew and their contributions to all our great Oldies Music. I would also like to give a shout out to all the great musicians who backed up all the great music that came out of the British Invasion of the 60’s. I’m always in awe of the orchestration backing all the great hits of Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones and Petula Clark, just to mention a few. I’m sure the same musicians were used on many of these recording and also their contributions were over shadowed as in the case of The Funk Brothers and The Wrecking Crew.

As a Viet Nam Vet and a retired member of the the U.S. Army I have always had to scratch my head when I’ve read bits and pieces about Gary Lewis and his Army career or lack of thereof.

My service to our country started about a year after Gary’s. I was not a “Senator’s Son” or a son of a celebrity and I volunteered my draft call in January of 1968. Volunteering your draft meant you knew Uncle Sam was coming and you were given the option of designating your entrance date. The idea of going to Canada or dodging the draft never entered the minds or any of the guys I grew up with in our Southwest Suburb of Chicago, Evergreen Park.

The interview done with Gary which ran on your site kind of confused me. Gary gets drafted, Gary goes to basic training, Gary goes to Saigon (R&R center) for three months and is then is shipped to Korea. In the interview Gary says he didn’t want to join Special Services because it would be preferential treatment.

Any military Vet will tell you that after basic training we all entered into an AIT which was Advance Individual Training. This period of training was usually eight weeks long and establish what our specific jobs would be in the Army. Example: Infantrymen, Cook, Clerk, Supply, etc. In Gary’s case, no specific training seemed to of happened. He references going to Viet Nam and being placed in a holding area with nothing to do for three months ??????

In reference to Gary Lewis being Jerry’s son, it's hard to believe anyone wouldn’t have known that back in the day. I recall Carrie Fisher talking about her Mom and Dad years ago. Regardless of any ups and downs she may have had with her Mom, she said the biggest difference in her parents was the fact that Debbie was there and Eddie wasn’t. It appears the same could have been said about Gary’s Mom. Jerry Lewis can’t take credit for Gary’s success as we have been told. Gary’s Army career was from December, 1966 to September, 1968. It is very evident that Jerry had even less to do with Gary during that period.

I read where Jerry Lewis blamed the Army for Gary’s drug habits during this period. He supposedly stated that the Army got his oldest son addicted to drugs and as far as he was concerned they would never get their hands on another of his sons. Many year later when he experienced his own drug addiction, I never heard him blame his addiction on show business. It had been written that Elvis first became addicted to uppers and downers during his Army hitch. What I never read was that Vernon blamed the Army for Elvis’s death or addiction.

Even as a retired member of our Armed Forces I don’t want to wave any flags here. I just can’t buy off on the fact that a two year draftee like myself and Gary had such different experiences in the Army.

Gary is inducted in December, 1966 and is discharged in September, 1968. A normal two year draftee term would have been from December, 1966 to December, 1968.

Gary goes to basic training but doesn’t’ attend an AIT and is sent to Viet Nam for three months. All us other Viet Nam Vets go through eight weeks of basic training followed by eight weeks AIT. When we are sent to Viet Nam, we all have specific assignments ... and our Viet Nam tour is one year.

Gary says he didn’t want any preferential treatment. He wanted to serve just like Elvis did. Sorry, Gary, mission not accomplished. Elvis was a real soldier who served two entire years, from March, 1958 to March, 1960. After basic training, Elvis was sent to an AIT for training as a tanker / gunner. There was some preferential treatment for Elvis but mostly because they didn’t want his fame to interfere with the training and missions of his fellow GI buddies.

We have read about Gregg Allman, Ted Nugent and Carl Wilson dodging the draft. My hat goes off to Gregg who at least had enough conviction to shoot himself in the foot to get out of the draft. As far as gun toting, IRA leader, flag waving, second amendment man Ted goes, he sure changed his spots. Carl was a gentle soul who didn’t believe in our presence and killing in Viet Nam and I respect that.

As a son of parents from the Greatest Generation, I never saw any other option than to serve my country when it called. I think most of us non celebrity, non senator’s sons and daughters felt the same way. We may have questioned the methods and motives of our country's actions during the turbulent '60’s, but not our allegiance to our country. Stop and think of all the other famous sons who never served and their draft dodging ran under the radar of public awareness altogether.

No disrespect to Gary Lewis. I just think his accomplishment as a recording star always seem to be a matter of controversy. Gary’s last two recordings before shipping overseas were “Sealed With A Kiss” and “Rhythm Of The Falling Rain”. The Army can’t be blamed for halting his career. It’s apparent that even back in 1966 Gary was ready for the Happy Together Tour.

When discussions come up on who did or didn’t do what in the studio, I have to revert back to a time and place of my youth and ask myself one simple question: Did it have a good beat and was it easy to dance to???

Jerry F. Kamper

SFC / E7 (Ret.)

United States Army

For those who say they didn't know that Gary's famous dad was comedian / actor Jerry Lewis, here's a special treat. In 1965 Gary recorded a B-Side called "Time Stands Still" that wound up on the flip side of his "Everybody Loves A Clown" single. The song was intended to be a serious, almost "Ink Spots-like" recording ... but during the session, Leon Russell told himthat the song was "going nowhere" ... and asked him "can you DO something? ANYTHING?to help liven it up?" Gary says that spur of the moment he went into his Dad's voice, strictly as a gag ... and then decided that it would make the PERFECT birthday present for his father. The imitation is spot on ... in fact, Lewis says deejays later asked him how he got his Dad to come in for the recording session! Ironically "Everybody Loves A Clown" may have ALSO been inspired by Gary's famous father ... as Jerry Lewis LOVED the whole "sad clown" personna.

Gary may say he distanced himself from his father, but I don't buy that completely if at all. He probably got in the Raquel Welch movie, "A Swingin' Summer" in 65 because of his father. He WAS the band in Jerry's 1966 film "Way, Way Out." When Gary went into the army in late 66 / early 67, there was a publicity photo of him with his dad published in many periodicals. Gary may say these things today, but I think he clearly enjoyed things others in his place did not, due to his dad at the time.
Here's photos of one of my first concerts I ever went to in summer 65 in Oklahoma City. My brother went up and got autographs for us kids and a pic and visited KOMA and got the jock autographs at the Gary Lewis gig. This would have been when "Count Me In" was his latest song on the charts.

Hey kk,
Your bloggers inspired me to do a Gary Lewis & The Playboys tribute on The FLip Side tonight. I used part of Carl Wiser's story about Gary's drum kit he got from his Mom. And of course I gave a plug for SongFacts.com, and a plug for ForgottenHits.com!
I played This Diamond Ring; Little Miss Go Go; Sure Gonna Miss Her; Green Grass; She's Just My Style; and Save Your Heart For Me. Wow, what a great bunch of 45s!
You may have mentioned this already, but they had 12 Top 40 hits between '65 and '68.
Something cool I mentioned on the show: The subjects of the B-sides (which I always play on my show). Here are a few of the B-side titles: I Don't Wanna Say Goodnight; I Won't Make That Mistake Again; I Can Read Between The Lines; Without a Word of Warning.
Anyway, thanks to you kk and your readers for the inspiration. Also, thanks to Paul Urbahns -- even though I didn't have the HIT! records to play. And as always, thanks to David Lewis right here in Nashville, a great friend of mine, and a regular contributor to FH.com.
Mr. C.
TheFLipSideRadioShow.com
Every Tuesday, 7-9 pm Central time, on www.RadioFreeNashville.org
(Repeat show on Fridays at 11 pm)

I wish I would have known ahead of time ... would have been happy to give you another plug as well!

You know, we DID feature both of those Hit Records recordings on the site ... so I guess you could have played them from there ... but then they wouldn't have been the "authentic" 45's I suppose.

You are right about Gary's hit collection ... some GREAT '60's music, no matter who performed on these records!!! We didn't care ... we just loved 'em! Still do. (kk)

Two more Gary Lewis rarities for you ...A couple of the Coca Cola Commercials he and The Playboys recorded back in the mid-'60's!

Here's Gary stepping out front on guitar to sing our recently featured "Sure Gonna Miss Her", leaving the drum kit behind. (Hmmm ... I hear the horns ... and the flamenco guitar ... but where's the accordion on this track?!?! lol) I don't know about you guys ... but I haven't been able to get this song out of my head all week! (kk)

re: ON THE RADIO:

The WLS 89th Birthday Celebration was (as expected) pretty lame ... until they hit the live party at 6:00 ... then things livened up a little bit. We got to hear some of our favorite "vintage" voices from the past ... as well as testimonials from everybody from Dennis DeYoung of Styx to The Governor of Illinois to phoned in messages of congratulations. WLS Legends like Dick Biondi, John "Records" Landecker and Bob Sirott were there to offer memories and they played some cool on-air clips by Larry Lujack, Ron Riley and others.

The amazing thing to me was the fact that they stressed throughout the program how innovative WLS-AM 890 was in the day by allowing their disc jockeys to talk and present their personalities on the air. We've covered this very topic countless times in Forgotten Hits. Jocks like John Landecker inspired Jonathan Brandmeier to get into radio. And Larry Lujack will NEVER let Bob Sirott forget about the fan letter he wrote him in the late '60's before launching his own broadcasting career.

We LIVED for these guys back in the day ... they were HUGE parts of our lives and we listened as much for them (and the way they presented the music) as the music itself. EVERYBODY knows it ... yet today the jocks are muzzled and told to only play the music. Personality Radio ... the very thing that put WLS head and shoulders above all of the other radio stations across the country ... is now completely non-existent ... despite the fact that ALL of the people still involved in radio today acknowledge that THIS is what made them what they were back in the day. (To a degree, WLS-AM has carried on this tradition, even though they adopted an all-talk format back in 1989. The jocks on the station have been with them for a VERY long period of time and each has developed their own niche audience who tune in JUST to hear them talk!)

What's going to inspire today's youth to get into radio? Absolutely nothing. In this day of syndication and automation, there is NOTHING to indicate ANYTHING interesting about radio today. ("Gee Mom ... I want to do THAT!!! Give out the station's call letters every 15 minutes!!! What a great gig THAT would be!!!") Somehow, I don't think so.) kk

Several years ago Scott Shannon did a "First And Foremost" Weekend ... where he played the artists' first Top 40 Chart Hit ... followed by the biggest hit of their career. So, using the same Beatles example, we got "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Hey Jude". Another unique spin on the two-fer weekend, this idea was suggested by one of our Forgotten Hits readers, Don Effenberger! (kk)

re: DIGGIN' FORGOTTEN HITS:

Kent,
For those people spending their lives disagreeing with one another on the hot-button political subjects of today, they need to enlighten their lives by spending time on your blog -- how refreshing Forgotten Hits is from the disrespectful discourse we are all subjected to on a daily basis in this country.

"Make Cryan' Shames Not War!"
Cheers,
Tim

Thanks to all the little people who keep Forgotten Hits interesting each week...

Hi,

Just wanted to let you know that Jerry Reuss, Dodger pitcher, came to a screening of our Wrecking Crew docutmentary in Vegas because he knew about it from Forgotten Hits.

Thanks for keeping it alive.

Denny Tedesco
Lunch Box Entertainment
"The Wrecking Crew"

Now THAT'S pretty cool!!! Proof again that you just never know who might be reading!!! (We've got to get you out here to Chicago ... come one ... SOMEBODY out there needs to pick up the ball on this one!!!) kk

re: MISSING FORGOTTEN HITS WOULD BE A CRYAN' SHAME:

Hi, Kent.

Thanks for including the Cryan Shames' "I Wanna Meet You" in the most recent Forgotten Hits. While it inexplicably conked out at #85 nationally at the tail end of 1966, it was a huge record (and deservedly so) in Chicago. It's effervescent, energetic romanticism perfectly matched (and shaped) my view of what love would be like as I first contemplated venturing into the dating arena -- and set the tone for the most significant interactions of my life. It's remarkable to think of how that same hearfelt enthusiasm and dreams of a warm and wonderful romantic relationship percolated through so many of the other tone-setting tunes of the time -- from the Cryan Shames' own "Sugar and Spice" to Gary Lewis' "Green Grass" and "She's Just My Style," The Turtles' "She's My Girl" and "She'd Rather Be With Me," The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice," The New Colony Six's "I Want You To Know" and "Things I'd Like To Say," Spanky & Our Gang's "Lazy Day" and "Like To Get To Know You," The Vogues' "You're The One" and "Turn Around, Look At Me," The Mamas & the Papas' "I Saw Her Again" and "Dedicated To The One I Love" and so forth. Let me tell you. To embark on romantic adventures in the late '60s and early '70s with those kinds of sunny, optimistic feelings radiating not just from the radio but from a heart that music shaped was something moving and memorable I am so glad I did not miss. I feel sorry for those in their teens and 20s today who try to take their relationship cues from what's currently on the airwaves. In most of today's hits, any romantic notions have been fully replaced by a jaded, callous crudity. It's really sad.

Well put, Gary ... it's hard to feel any love in your heart listening to today's music when something from virtually every line of the song has to be bleeped out for broadcast. There seems to be a much angrier message these days and that's a shame. It has bred a real disrespect for women when artists like Chris Brown and R. Kelly are given prime radio time. Music is supposed to make you feel good. Back then it was find a partner and fall in love ... today it seems to be more a case of take what you want with no apologies. Sad. (kk)

re: PHOTO GALLERY:

Saw this posted on facebook today ...

Tom Diehl

And why on earth would this make you think of me?!?!? Hmmm ...

At first I thought it was one of those cut-out photo booths where you stick your head through to the actual album cover photo ... but this is a vintage Herb Alpert picture so it must have been some kind of promotional dealio. Very cool ... thanks for sending. (kk)

And this from FH Reader Ed Pond ... a rare reunion shot of Micky, Peter and Davy ... but probably not Davy's best side! (kk)

THIS JUST IN: Speaking of The Monkees, it sounds like Micky, Peter and Mike are lining up more reunion shows together! (What a shame that Davy had to miss out on all of this!)

The Monkees 2013 Reunion Tour first announced by Monkees.Net has been
confirmed with the first official date now scheduled:An Evening With The Monkees
Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork
WED, August 14, 2013 — 7:30 PM
The Mountain Winery

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We're doing our part to help Keep Yesterday Alive ... thanks to a GREAT list of music fans and contributors from all over the world. Forgotten Hits is Oldies Radio's Best Friend ... it's Radio That You Can Read! We're asking the deejays to dig just a LITTLE bit deeper and push the envelope just a LITTLE bit further and take the time to remember and acknowledge some of those GREAT songs and artists that we all know and love that just don't get played anymore ... the ones that traditional oldies radio has forgotten all about with their short, repetitive play lists. Without your help and support, this great music will continue to disappear and fade away.